You are not invincible, WHO warns young people

Concern that rise in cases across Europe linked to ‘partying’ youngsters who ‘ignore social distancing’

YOUNG people are starting to believe they are “invincible” in the face of coronavirus and are no longer following the rules, a World Health Organisation chief has suggested.

Dr Hans Kluge, the regional director for Europe, said yesterday he was “very concerned” that under-24s are regularly appearing among new cases.

His comments come as infection rates continue to rise sharply across much of the Continent, and follow widespread reports of partying youngsters ignoring social distancing after months of lockdown.

France, Germany and Italy all saw their biggest daily rise in cases since the spring this week, while Spain is in the grip of a major outbreak, with 3,715 new cases on Wednesday alone.

“Young people are at the forefront of the Covid-19 response and they have a very powerful message to convey through their behaviour and their communication,” said Dr Kluge

“Low risk does not mean no risk, no one is invincible and if you do not die from Covid-19, it may stick to your body like a tornado with a long tail.

“While young people are less likely to die than older people, they can still be very seriously affected, this virus affects organs throughout the body.”

Countries that largely escaped the first wave have recorded their highest ever daily rise in cases this week, with 2,134 in Ukraine and 219 in Croatia.

But deaths and hospital admissions are not rising by comparable levels, leading to speculation and debate over the cause.

In France, Emmanuel Macron ruled out imposing another national lockdown, telling Paris Match magazine: “We cannot bring the country to a standstill because the collateral damage of confinement is considerable. Zero risk never exists in society. We need to respond to this anxiety without falling into the doctrine of zero risk. We want to avoid being totally overwhelmed. We have very localised strategies … going up to targeted lockdowns that could be imposed.”

France registered 3,776 new infections on Wednesday, its highest daily tally since May. In total, some 16,747 people tested positive in the past week. Of particular concern are the Paris area and the southern Provence-alpes-côte d’azur, while Nice and Toulouse are the latest cities to make face masks mandatory outdoors.

In Germany, there is debate over whether this winter’s carnival celebrations should be cancelled after it recorded its highest daily rise in cases since late April yesterday, with 1,707.

Jens Spahn, the health minister, said it had to prioritise keeping schools and kindergartens open. “I know how deeply people love the carnival,” he

‘Young people are less likely to die [but] they can still be very seriously affected, this virus affects organs’

said. “But when we have to decide between kindergarten and carnival, I am sure that society has a clear answer.”

Italy recorded its highest daily rise in infections since May on Wednesday, with 642 new cases. The government has ordered all nightclubs and discos to shut, saying they have become a focus of infections, and made masks compulsory at gatherings in streets and piazzas from 6pm until 6am.

Roberto Speranza, the health minister, said if infections continue to grow, the planned reopening of the country’s schools in September could be at risk.

The rise in infections has been linked to people returning from holidays. In Sardinia, an entire hotel has been placed in quarantine on the island of Santo Stefano. Of the 475 staying at the hotel, 21 tested positive.

German authorities yesterday issued a travel warning for Croatia, which saw its highest 24-rise in infections with 219 on Wednesday. German media has dubbed a bar in the Croatian resort of Makarska the “new Ischgl” after the Austrian ski resort that was a main centre of the first outbreak. Seven Germans and five Swiss have tested positive after visiting the bar.

Yet in much of Europe deaths and hospital cases are not rising. France recorded only 17 new deaths from the virus on Wednesday, while the number of people admitted to hospital with the virus fell slightly to 4,806.

Germany recorded seven deaths on Wednesday, and currently has only 228 patients in intensive care units.

Italy also saw only seven deaths on Wednesday, and many of those testing positive are asymptomatic, said Matteo Bassetti, director of infectious diseases at San Martino Hospital in Genoa.

The disparity has led to debate over the cause. The majority of those currently testing positive are younger people, leading to speculation the spread is being fuelled by travel and socialising. But there is concern death rates may rise if infection spreads to older people.

There has also been speculation that the rise may be simply because more tests are being carried out, with more

‘When we have to decide between kindergarten and carnival, I am sure that society has a clear answer’

symptomless cases also being detected.

Germany currently carries out almost twice as many tests as during the first wave but the proportion of those positives has remained steady since May, at around 1 per cent, after falling from around 9 per cent in March

“As long as the percentage of positive tests does not increase, but rather decreases, this indicates that the infections are increasing because more tests are carried out,” said Prof Jonas Schmidt-chanasit, a virologist at he Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine.

In France, the proportion of positive tests has risen slightly in recent days. It is now 3.1 per cent compared to 2.4 per cent in the second week of August. Around half of those who test positive show no symptoms, according to DGS, the national health body.

In Italy, too, many of the newly infected are asymptomatic, according to Matteo Bassetti, the director of infectious diseases at San Martino Hospital in Genoa, who added: “They are not ill but they still have to go into quarantine.”

The proportion of positive tests in Italy is around 1.7 per cent, compared to under 1 per cent in June and July and 7 per cent in April.

Experts warn that the current low death and hospitalisation rates may represent no more than a lag between rising infections and serious cases – and Spain offers stark confirmation. The new outbreak is threatening the country’s health system, with three Madrid hospitals cancelling surgery.